HoopCon Goodbye, Circus Artemis, Summer Tour

I will not be at a Hoop Convergence this year. It was a tough choice (thus the late formal announcement), but it’s also been a tough year. And I just made the decision to streamline what’s happening over the next month. My original plan was to perform in Circus Artemis (Portland’s new all-women circus) this upcoming weekend, fly to Hoop Convergence straight from the final show, hit the second part of the conference, stick around for two weeks to hang out with Julia Hartsel and road trip to Wildfire.

In the version of my life that was pre-2009, this would’ve been normal. But late 2009 /early 2010 was so chaotic (recovering from major injury and navigating massive car repairs), I’m now filing this plan under the category “insane.” I no longer thrive on stress; I now thrive on drinking enough water, breathing deeply and being able to sleep at night. Because my car repairs are still lingering, I’m going to take a few more weeks to untangle my life threads before doing anything too wild.

Anyway, I’ll miss everyone in North Carolina. I feel a special attachment to Hoop Convergence because the first year (2008), Julia, Spiral, Caroleena, Ali Cat and I formed a planning committee and bounced around ideas of what it would be. Julia is the super goddess of making it happen. But I felt like a co-mom of a newborn baby that first year. And it’s such a charming event – like a family reunion. I’ll miss the late night sessions in front of Falcoln Lodge. (Put a beer and a lawn chair in front of me, and I’ll be up until 4 a.m. laughing my a** off with Shakti and Spiral.)

The happy news is that I still have a lot of fun shows in the works. I’m just concentrating closer to home this summer. (And I’ll still be at Hoop Camp in September.) Here’s the lowdown on the rest of my summer:

May 21-23 – CIRCUS ARTEMIS, Portland, OR (Staver Locomotive, 2537 NW 29th — Buy tickets by clicking here) — Circus Artemis is Portland’s new All-Women Circus. It is also known as THE SHOW FOR WHICH I BROKE MY FOOT REHEARSING. We had our debut back in October, and two weeks before opening night, I broke a bone jumping through a hoop. It was still thrilling to watch this labor of love sell out a 400+ person venue every single night for three nights in a row. If you are anywhere near the state of Oregon this weekend, don’t miss your chance to get a ticket for what I can honestly say is one of the most inspiring, empowering shows I have ever seen. (I wasn’t on stage in the fall; I was out in the audience, crying – not even just out of pain, out of extreme pride at watching so many strong, talented, powerful women evoke massive cheers and even standing ovations from the audience.) Here’s a video with footage from the fall show. Hope to see you there!

The Women of Circus Artemis

June 11-13 – MAD SKILLS VANCOUVER– tbd – Coordinating a ride North-ward with the Vulcan Crew. If it works out, I’ll be at this fantastic-sounding combo of a spin event/juggling festival. Check out their promo vid:

June 18-July 3 – NEW OLD TIME CHAUTAUQUA REDWOOD VAUDEVILLE TOUR – I’m so excited, after hearing incredible things about this tour for a couple years, to finally have gotten around to applying for (and then being accepted to) New Old Time Chautauqua. This tour also features hooper Vanessa Vortex and many other fantabulous vaudevillians:

July 9-11 – OREGON COUNTRY FAIR, Veneta Oregon — Back home in time to perform with the Bellini Twins (at Daredevil Palace during the day) and in the Friday Night Fire Show at the much-loved, much-attempted-to-be-snuck-into-overnight Oregon Country Fair.

One response to “HoopCon Goodbye, Circus Artemis, Summer Tour”

I just got done being brave and attempting to scroll through your blog. Pretty amazing stuff so I will explore more tomorrow perhaps but it’s bedtime now. Have a great time out east (and west). Looking forward to lots more creative stuff on this site after your return.